One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Cave Creek should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Poppies

Frost tolerance for poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant poppies a little bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant poppies in Cave Creek is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant poppies and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your poppies indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Cave Creek the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Cave Creek is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cave Creek there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your poppies in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cave Creek

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Cave Creek

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cave Creek.